


the idiot called shane madej

by idkevenknowwhatthisi_s



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Watcher Entertainment RPF
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, First Fanfic Ever!, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Sharing a Bed, avoid if lactose intolerant, but they both are so, cause i heart the sharing bed trope, hahah i'm so silly, idk even know, shane punches a man, shanes an idiot, so many plot holes but we dont mention those, some fun homophobia lolz, suuuuper cheesy, the boys in NYC!, woot woot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26563552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idkevenknowwhatthisi_s/pseuds/idkevenknowwhatthisi_s
Summary: Ryan and Shane's newest tourist trapped episode: this time in NYC! Follow our favorite boys as they navigate the city, relationships, and the romantic/sexual tension no one will mention!!akaidiots in nyc
Relationships: Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Comments: 36
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't think I would be writing fanfiction in the year of our lord, 2020, but here we are. enjoy! 
> 
> if you know shane or ryan personally do not read this i beg of you

CH 1  
In all honesty, Ryan knew he was a goner from the first time he had that sensation. I know, you’re probably thinking, “what like a boner? Shit, I was in the mood for some pining!”, but don’t worry. It was that feeling, the one where butterflies crowded in his insides, like when he went to the museum as a kid and his parents let him go to the butterfly garden. It was kind of a shitty little tent, obviously just a seasonal thing, but as a 6 year-old him walked through the haze of wings he couldn’t notice anything other than the bright colors. And then there was the sharp, warm sensation that ran throughout his body that sent shivers down his spine, but only when Shane touched him. When it first happened, he brushed it off as,

“It’s just… he never shows affection, so when he smiles at me I’m just excited that he thinks I’m fun!”

But he knew he was bullshitting and that obviously wasn’t the reason, but for the life of him he couldn’t think of any idea of what was. Everytime it happened, up until this moment. 3 years later, where he still feels the redness crawl up his face when the taller looks down and says,

“Ry, you good? I was talking about this episode of Tourist Trapped and you’re just… staring into space.”

“Oh uh yeah, just kinda tired today, ya know how it is!”, he blurted out, chuckling nervously.

Shane looked at him curiously, then when he had decided there was nothing to worry about, said, “I feel you. Since I got you now, would you be cool with sharing a room in New York? It’s better for the budget and I know you’re gonna want to do some spur of the moment tourist shit so it’ll give us some wiggle room”, adding a little shimmy at the end.

Ryan nodded quickly, a little flustered by the wiggle Shane did, not really listening to what he just agreed to do, then watched Shane walk away to… do whatever he just asked Ryan about. Watched him walk away with his warm brown eyes, and those big, strong hands, and soft looking hair, which looked a bit more wild today than usual. It looked like he had just got out of bed, got dressed, then walked out the door. To be fair, Ryan had a suspicion Shane did around that simple of a morning routine every day, but he still did look a bit more disheveled today.

He stared at Shane a bit more, daydreaming about his nice features. The features that Ryan day dreamed about when he was bored or tired, letting himself think of kissing those hands, wearing Shane’s big sweaters, ones that smell like his cologne and old spice. Maybe playing with Shane’s hair while he slept, and maybe grabbing that same hair when partaking in various other…..activities.

‘Ah shit, stop thinking about that!’ the voice in his head screamed as he realized what he was thinking about. ‘Not here!’ the voice said, ‘and definitely not about your best friend who you’ve worked with for years!’ and Ryan had to admit, the voice was right. But this fucking feeling wasn’t going away.

Ryan had tried everything when he first started feeling it. At first, he stopped talking to Shane, except for during shoots for Unsolved, and when he had to when they were with friends. This plan, however good it seemed, made the issue much worse as time went on. Whenever he saw Shane, his pathetic little heart would do backflips on itself, trying to beat its way out of his chest. He wouldn’t be able to work for a good 20 minutes, as he had to calm himself enough to prevent a heart attack. Though, it was even worse when they spoke, when he would become a sweaty, stuttering mess and Shane would look at him weird, almost with pity.

With that, he moved on to talking and being the Ghoul Boys™ again, but just trying to date other people to try and suppress the feeling. He went on date and date and date, with not a single one resulting in a second. He finally gave up as the last girl looked at him sadly and said,

“You’re really cute, and totally my type, but to be quite honest, I just don’t think you’re ready for this yet.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You don’t know? Well, I suggest you talk to that one friend of yours, Shane, I think? Anyways, I’m gonna go.”

And with that, Ryan was alone at this nice dinner he had planned, for reasons he didn’t want to understand, with his only evidence of what went wrong being her cryptic answer. Now, my dear reader, I assume you already know what his problem was, but if not here’s the answer to Ryan’s predicament: this idiot we love and adore, would not stop talking about Shane. With every conversation, he would somehow direct it to talking about his friend. At one point, he directed a conversation from astro-physics to Shane within a few minutes.

So he sat there, at this nice restaurant, with this nice meal, sad, confused, and most of all, wishing Shane was there with him. Laughing at Ryan’s jokes, his eyes crinkling, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as laughs escape his body. And it was at this moment, thinking about his best friend right here, that he realized what the feeling was: It was a fucking crush. A fucking crush he had on his fucking best friend, co-host, and co-CEO of their company, a crush on the idiot called Shane Madej. A fucking crush he had on a mother-fucking straight dude.

So to say it clearly: Ryan was obviously, majorly, screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane's POV and just kinda setting up the story i guess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope ya'll are liking this! I updated the first chapter a bit, and also wrote this one at like 12 am last night hahaha... leave a kudos or comment if you're enjoying this, and if not, idk what to tell you. Love you all and stay safe!

**CH 2**

Shane woke up bright and early that morning, his head pounding with a hangover. He looked over to the bedside table, shoving his glasses on his face and downing the two aspirin and glass of water past-Shane had left him. Sure, past-Shane was a dick for giving him this hangover, but he was so nice to himself sometimes. 

As the ringing in his head started to quiet, he thought about what had led him to his current state. Shane could remember chugging beers like there was no tomorrow, quietly singing to himself as his record player spewed out the sad indie music that Ryan made fun of him for liking. 

Oh right.

Ryan. 

‘He’s why you’re like this, you idiot’, his brain supplied as he realized what led him to his fun night of feeling sorry for himself:

He went to work yesterday, wanting to ask Ryan about the budget for their New York trip. Shane’s heart fluttering at the thought of him and his friend going to New York together, basically going on one huge date. With both of their families being busy over the holiday, they decided they would go the week of Thanksgiving, wanting to catch the autumn weather and the iconic Macy’s day parade. The parade which Ryan had talked about always wanted to see in person.

But that's obviously not the reason Shane chose the week of the parade, and definitely not why he begged his family to go on a cruise that year so that ‘he wouldn’t have plans’. Nope, nuh-uh, no way José.

So Shane fed Obi, drove to work, did some editing, looked up places to go for their trip, drafted a script for Puppet History (making sure to add a few lines Ryan would cringe at along the way), and researched hotels. He put in all the things he would need, then set it to price lowest to highest. He scrolled down a bit, looking for a cheap place, but not cheap enough it was an absolute shit hole. As he scrolled and the places got better he watched the prices go up and up and up, with them having $4.63 left in the budget for their trip if they went to the first Marriot he saw in the list. [idk why i chose marriott, it's just the first chain hotel i could think of lmao]

To say the least, that was not very good. He decreased the number of rooms they would need, and he watched the number go way down. At that moment Shane decided he had to put on his Big Boy Pants™ and ask the crew, and worst of all, Ryan if they would be cool sharing a room with someone, wildly decreasing the price overall. 

He walked around the office looking for crew members to ask, and let out a huge sigh of relief when they all said they were fine with it, as long as there were two beds. Shane started sweating when he realized that he had to ask Ryan next.

He walked up to Ryan and started talking.

***

Now Shane always knew he was a bit bisexual, he just though he could kind of… stuff those thoughts down and just settle down with a nice girl of his own. That’s what his plan was shaping up to be with Sara, until she dumped him to move in with her new partners. Shane had gotten sad, but honestly got over her very quickly. He didn’t have a clue why, he just assumed it was because he knew they weren’t right for eachother, but he knew he had to act a bit sad and couldn’t date for a while. 

During this time he started to _self reflect_ and realized that the reason he was so fine with Sara and his breakup was because most roles filled by a significant other were just filled by Ryan. They went to the movies, had fun together, went out to dinner, laughed at each other's jokes, and Shane never had to worry that Ryan would stop liking him like he had to with Sara. Once those words left little Shane’s mouth (whatever the voice in his head used to talk) he realized what was actually happening. He realized that he, Shane Alexander Madej, had a MAJOR crush on Ryan Bergara. Like a massive, elephant sized, almost love, sized crush. Ever since they were shitty little interns.

***

And now Shane was stuck asking what felt like the love of his life if they could room together on their trip. Sure, he was excited to talk to Ryan like the dope he was, but also a little pissed that he didn’t have the younger’s full attention. Ryan was staring right over Shane’s shoulder longingly, making him wonder what was behind Shane that Ryan so badly wanted. And as the conversation ended and he turned around, he was met with the figure of Steven - fucking - Lim right where Ryan was staring.

‘Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!’ Shane’s inner-monologue kept repeating, ‘he doesn’t like you, you idiot! Why would you ever think he would! He likes Steven, and you’re the idiot that got your hopes up!!’ Inner-monologue Shane was right, wasn’t it. So he walked over to his desk, spacing out as he booked the hotel, feeling like sorry for himself. 

He quickly finished everything else he had to do for the day, then left early because of nausea that didn’t really exist, speeding home as fast as his little car would take him there.

Right as he entered the door, he made a beeline for the fridge and started his night of self pity and journey of getting massively drunk. He sang and cried and watched him and Ryan's favorite movies, then cried some more as he spiraled and dreamt up some crazy reality where Steven and Ryan got married and Shane had to be the best man for both of them, causing him to cry even more.

So that was why this morning he had woken up with a messy living room, tear and snot filled tissues strewn across the floor, and a note on the door from his worried neighbors, asking him if he could maybe make his crying a bit quieter.

At least he had secured Obi with a place to stay and fully packed all Drunk-Shane thought he would need for the trip.

Shane then trudged off to Ryan’s apartment, wishing the day was over already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I'm a big fan of time skipping i guess and also this is my first story so its kind of awkward tehe. So sorry


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay!!! I dont even know but I like it. Pretty fluffy type chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry abt the wait for this chapter, i am a working student tho so expect at least 1 chapter a week :) this isn't really how life would work and this chapter was kinda rushed but *shrug*
> 
> also anything in [these brackets] are my little thoughts i had when writing it

**CH 3**

Ryan had woken up feeling much more chipper than usual that morning, with pre-trip excitement and a little bit of anxiety coursing through his veins. He made himself some coffee, then padded over to his room to start packing what he would need while he waited for Shane to show up. They had decided that Shane would stay over at Ryan’s the day before, as they could cut down costs and just generally make everything easier for their very early start the next day. All Ryan had to do today was clear up some last minute things for the trip, do a bit of editing, pack, and just generally get ready.

As Ryan was packing his final shirts in his bag, he heard the doorbell ring and was met with a very droopy-faced Shane on his doorstep.

“Dude, are you good? You look like you just got hit by a car, like 10 times”, Ryan said as he opened the door.

“Mmmnnnn. Too loud Ry, shh shh shhhhh”, Shane whispered groggily, pressing a finger to Ryan’s lips, “I slept like shit last night and… also have a massive hangover”

Ryan wheezed at Shane’s answer as he opened the door and helped bring his bags into the apartment.

“Ok, so I was thinking we work for a bit, I only have like 30 minutes to do at most, then we can watch some tv and get in the general spirit for the trip”, Ryan said as he wheeled the final bag into the apartment and shut the door.

“Sounds good. I finished all I had to do yesterday so I’ll just wait ‘till you’re done. Apparently drunk-Shane has quite a work ethic.” Ryan laughed and Shane yawned, then they both went off to do their own things before they started their holiday tv show marathon.

As time passed and Ryan realized he had more work than expected, Shane had started to get bored and crabby, annoying Ryan with whatever was around him.

“Are you done yet, are you done yet, are you done yet, I’m tired, this is boringgggg, Ryan Ryan Ryan, work faster, can you please be done nowwww” the taller continued to complain, until his partner finally yelled,

“NOT YET!”, fed up with Shane’s whining, “I’ll let you know once I’m done. For the time being, you should take a nap on my bed so you stop being so fucking grumpy and I can work in silence. My bags are on it but you can just move them if you want. Now please let me work in peace and enjoy naptime.”

“Fine Dad”, Shane said, making sure to put emphasis on the last word. Ryan rolled his eyes then watched Shane waddle over to Ryan’s bed and get comfortable under the covers.

“Now come here and read me a bedtime story before I go to sleep”, Shane said, flashing Ryan his sad puppy-dog eyes to get his way.

“You’re truly insufferable.”

“But you still love me” Shane quipped as he closed his eyes.

‘You’re not too far off there bud’ Ryan mumbled in his head and then continued working. Every so often he would look over at Shane, softly breathing and drooling on Ryan’s pillow. ‘Maybe it’ll smell like him!!’, little Ryan exclaimed eagerly, letting real Ryan bask in the thoughts of Shanes smell. Shane had this very specific smell of campfire, old spice, and eucalyptus. Ryan would hate the scent if it belonged to anyone else, but it all seemed to work for Shane. [tbh i do not know how shane smells, but i’m assuming not this good as he is a straight man and probably uses 2-in-1 lolz]

Once Ryan realized how creepy he sounded, he stopped his thoughts in shame and woke Shane up from his nap. He had the cutest bit of bed head that Ryan just wanted to run his fingers through, then kiss the older man’s jaw, and run his hands under the wrinkled up shirt Shane was wearing to feel his warm tummy….. And Ryan was being creepy again, wasn’t he. 

“Ry-guy you good?” Shane asked.

“Yep! Totally cool, nothing to worry about, woot woot let's get the party started!!!”, Ryan nervously exclaimed, earning him a bemused look from the taller man. They then walked to the couch to binge all the movie and tv shows they could, eventually getting dinner and passing out on the couch.

***

After both of them waking up on the couch the next morning and getting a new pair of clothes on, they packed their suitcases into Shane’s car and sped off to the airport.

“It’s the big day guys! Currently on the way to the airport,” Shane grinned as he faced away from the camera he was vlogging on to face Ryan, “How you feeling, Little Guy?”

Ryan shot him an annoyed look at the nickname then said, “Pretty excited! I’ve always wanted to see a real fall season in person, and it's even better we’re getting the iconic New-York-City thanksgiving!”

“Is Thanksgiving really a thing the city’s famous for?”, Shane looked over and Ryan shrugged, “Who knows. Maybe we should ask Big Apple Steve! Bet he could tell us.” After he finished his thoughts, Shane switched off the camera and Ryan watched his face get… sad? Ryan had no idea why. Pulling Ryan out of his thoughts, Shane turned to him and said,

“Ok, but for real dude, how are you feeling? I know you get a little nervous on planes.”

“Actually really excited! NYCs worth it”, which Ryan actually meant. He was really looking forward to a genuine fall, and also what felt like a week-long date with his best friend/crush/love of his life, like some of the comments on their last episode had suggested. Maybe Ryan would wear his sweaters and they could roll around in leaves and do one of those cheesy couple montages like in Disney movies. 

Obviously No Homo style though.

Though Ryan secretly wished it would be very homo style. [what the fuck is this line??? all i can imagine is ryan's face like ✌️😔 BAHAHA. anyways…..]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's our thoughts on this chapter? also please let me know if i should stop doing my little interjections. i like doing them cause sometimes i do chuckle at myself and also just to let you guys know my personality i guess? idk but anyways get excited for the NYC shenanigans that are coming up!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys get to NYC!!!!

CH 4: Monday

Once Shane and Ryan got to the airport, they unloaded their bags then went to the gate the plane was departing from. They greeted the crew, then sat down for their short amount of time before the plane started boarding.

Their section was called to get on and they settled into their seats, then Shane pulled out the vlog camera and said,  
“On the plane baby!”, ignoring the looks from the other passengers.  
“How we feeling, Ry-Guy?”

“Kinda tired, overall really excited though. New York isn’t gonna know what hit it with the Ghoul Boys in town!”, Ryan replied, eyes sparkling with anticipation for their trip.

‘God he’s cute….’ little Shane sighed as Ryan turned to get their itinerary out.

“Alright, so today we have our plane ride then getting settled into the hotel, then tomorrow we have my first activity,” the younger stated as he turned to face Shane, “Get ready for some touristy-ass shit. I even asked Big Apple Steve what the worst thing to put you through would be!” Shane forced out the best fake-laugh he could muster as Ryan’s crush on Steven was reintroduced to his mind. [ok so the way i just looked up where steven is from to fact check this and,,,, he's from Ohio,,,, this is so awk. Basically we’re gonna pretend like steven is from new york to save my sanity]

As he looked over to say some sort of his usual bullshit, he saw the way the light from the window hit Ryan’s face, a halo of warm colors surrounding the other man. Shane’s heart skipped a beat, and at the same time Ryan looked at him and flashed him a smile brighter than the sun outside.

This was gonna be a long trip, wasn’t it.

***

The plane ride had felt surprisingly short, with most of it spent napping with Ryan’s head on his shoulder, replying to emails with Ryan’s head on his shoulder, or finalizing reservations with Ryan’s head on his shoulder. Fine, Shane was a little caught up in the fact that Ryan had fallen asleep with hIS HEAD RESTING ON SHANE’S SHOULDER! Little Shane was bursting with joy as big Shane was trying to convince himself that it meant nothing and they were both secure enough in their masculinity to be able to be this comfortable with each other. But a little part of his mind secretly hoped this might reveal something.

Once the plane landed, the idiots who clapped for planes gave the pilot a standing ovation for doing their job, and they had retrieved their luggage from baggage claim, they were tasked with finding a car for them to take. The team eventually agreed on ordering a Lyft, so there they were on the sidewalk with far too many bags for only 6 people, chilly from the autumn weather.

“Fuck! It’s cold as shit! Why didn’t you realize it would be cold as shit you idiot?”, Ryan mumbled to himself, rubbing his hands together.

“Dude, it’s literally 60 degrees right now. You little Californians are weak to the cold, aren’t you?”, Shane teased.

“Dude, it's a solid 20º colder than it was in LA. Sorry your weirdo midwesterner body can handle it”, Ryan shot back, looking Shane up and down as he said it. Right as he finished the sentence, their car pulled up to the street. They loaded both their bags and themselves into the SUV, their driver saying, “Looks like I’ll have to put one of the seats down. It’ll be a little bit of a squeeze for two of you, but there's not much else I can do”

“No problem! Ryan and I can just take those seats, if we aren’t sick of each other already” he winked at the younger man. Ryan shuddered and fake-gagged.

“I’m not completely sure you’re gonna fit in there Gumby, but we can try” A blush crept up Shane’s face at the new nickname.

“That’s the spirit! Now get on in little guy, we got places to go, sights to see!” Shane whooped as Ryan sighed and got in the car.

The car ride went by pretty quickly, chatting, watching the sun slowly set over the island. They were all pretty tired once they got to the hotel, with overall trip excitement and the leftover nap hangovers they had all acquired after the flight sucking up all their energy. Shane and Ryan made their way up to the front desk to check in, wanting to dodge the responsibility of unloading the car and because of the fact Shane had made the reservations.

As the lady got their order up on her computer, she began, “Alright Mr. Madej, we’re all set for your two double queen rooms and one king room. The room nu-”

“Wait. Did you just say a single king room? I thought I got all queens!”, Shane exclaimed.

“There must’ve been a mixup, I’m so sorry sir!”, she typed away at her computer, “Sadly there are no queen rooms left, we’re very busy for the holiday. We could get you a cot if you’d like?”

Shane sighed and looked over at Ryan, who looked like he had just seen a ghost shoot a man, or some awful scene like that.

“Dude. Earth to Ryan?”

“OH yep I’m here!” Ryan turned to the receptionist, “I don’t think we’ll be needing a cot. Thank you though!” And grabbed the room keys from her. Shane trailed behind as he realized what this would mean for him. Their staff were usually accommodating for sharing rooms and that type of stuff, but sharing beds? He was gonna get major shit for this.

He gulped as they reached the crew.

“Alright guys, we got the keys. Here you are” Ryan handed the key cards out. He continued, “Shane and I are gonna go up to our room, and room service for dinner tonight. I am far too tired to actually go out, I don’t know about you all” Everyone shook their heads yes in agreement.

As they were in the elevator going to their room, Shane said, “Geez, I’m tired. Can’t wait for the major amounts of crap I’m gonna get for this mixup. By the way, who’d you give the king room to? We should probably let them know”

“Idiot. You think I would give that room to one of our crew? They’re already pissed you made ‘em share rooms, they would have a fit if they would have to share a bed with each other. I gave us that room”, Ryan explained.

As Shane was nodding at what Ryan said, he realized what RYAN HAD SAID. He was going to have to share an entire bed with Ryan for a week. This fucking crush was starting to die down a bit, and now he was getting this? The universe was out for him, he knew it.

“Wow Ry. I knew you were forward, but no first date and you’re already trying to get me in bed?”

“I hate you”

“Still down to fuck though?”

“Are you gonna be weird about this the entire trip? I thought you were mature enough but maybe you’re all ‘Poor Shane has to sleep with the bi guy, he’s gonna be all predatory!’ Grow up dude. If you’re really that uncomfortable just ask the lady for the cot”

“Woah, woah, whoa dude. Slow down. You think I’m… homophobic? And you’re bi?”

“Did you not know? I told you about that dude I had a crush on, Chris?”

“Oh yeah… I remember you talking about him. Sorry dude”

“No problem. I was just worried this was gonna be you coming out as a homophobic asshole to be honest”

“Wowwww, I’m really that bad aren’t I? What’re you gonna say next, that I eat babies?”, trying to get rid of the tension that had filled the elevator.

“You’ve never explicitly told me you don’t, so that case is”, Ryan put on his theory voice, “Unsolved.” Shane wheezed and Ryan smiled his smile, then they continued on their way to the room. They opened a door to a reasonably nice room. [ok also can we talk abt the fact that ryans smile is literally 3: like that is the shape his mouth makes. Please someone tell me you’ve noticed this]

It had a big bed, a soft chair, a medium sized TV, and a pretty nice shower. Ryan opened the window and gasped as he waved Shane over to come see. Shane had always said that skylines were shit and weren’t a good view, but this was...something else. The blues, black, and yellow all blended together creating a natural masterpiece. He hoped someone in the world was somehow capturing the sight.

“Wow”

They stood there for at least 15 minutes watching the city, no words spoken, just one of them pointing something out to the other every so often. Finally, Ryan yawned and said,

“I’m tired. Can we go to bed now?”

Shane had temporarily forgotten of their situation, but was now brought back to reality with the shorter man’s words.

“Yeah, I’m beat”

Ryan closed the blind as Shane walked over to the bathroom. Their toothbrushes were lined in the middle of the his and her sink- ‘Well actually his and his if you’re thinking about it’ little Shane interrupted.

And no, big Shane was not thinking about how very married people-like this was, or how on that note they had always been compared to a married couple. Nor was he thinking about the fact that Ryan specifically chose the room with one bed for them, and didn’t seem to bother by having to share a bed anyways. Or the fact that Ryan was bi. Nope. Definitely not.

“Dude, you good up there? You’ve been drooling out toothpaste foam while you just stare at the mirror”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Guess I’m more than a bit tired then”, he chuckled softly and watched Ryan saunter away. He quickly spit out the toothpaste still in his mouth then wiped the floor clean. Ryan looked up from his phone as Shane turned the lights off and got into bed.

“No pillow wall?”

“Couldn’t find enough. Hope that's ok with you”

“Yeah, no problem. Alright, I’m gonna go night night”

“Idiot. G’ night”

Shane flipped over to face Ryan's back, and was able to detect a trace of his smell on the pillow. His heart started beating faster than a hummingbird's wings. It was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay new chapter! This is longer than the first few by a solid 600 words and also kinda rushed cause i didn’t want to go into detail on some of this stuff. Hope y'all still enjoyed tho. Also if you want some nice sadness, please read my new post that I wrote procrastinating this :)
> 
> (as always leave a kudos/comment if you enjoyed!)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tourist trapped event #1!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so i just realized this is much longer then usual chapters so please enjoy!!

**CH 5: Tuesday**

Ryan woke up with the moonlight peeking through the shitty blinds the hotel had. His eyes squinted as he checked the alarm clock that shined a bright red **_3:58_ **. He breathed a relieved sigh as he closed his eyes again, thanking all of the gods from every religion he could remember he didn’t have to get up at that moment. As a yawn escaped his body, he snuggled into the warm body behind him, intertwining his fingers around the hand that was currently resting on his stomach. The face in the crook of his neck snuggled in further then they already were, and Ryan let the other person’s soft breathing guide him back to sleep.

  
  


The second time he woke up was to small, sloppy kisses being pressed into his jaw. It was clear the person placing them was not awake, as they were light enough that the action was done out of habit. A small _mmhmm_ escaped his lips as he breathed, getting even more comfortable spooning whoever was behind him for a bit more until he had to finally get up. As his head cleared from the morning grogginess it always possessed, he realized, 

_‘ok, so I’m snuggling someone right now. Like a real, human body.’_ he panicked as his eyes glanced down at the hand wrapped possessively around his body, recognising it from someone he couldn’t place at the moment. 

_‘sHit, it’s not one of the crew, is it? Whose fucking hand is this? I hope its not one of the crew’s, I think i’d have to report myself to hr, and we can’t get a new person in new york right now! Fuck, fuck, fuck shane’s gonna be pissed I fucked this al-’_ SHANE!! 

‘ _Oh fuck oh shit oh shit’_ he cracked open his eyes as he looked down at Shane Fucking Madej’s hand hugging the smaller man’s body to his. _‘Oh my god what did i do what did i do, he’s gonna think i tried to seduce him oh no this is gonna make things awkward isn’t it oh fuck me sh-’_

Right as he started to go into phase 2 of The Bergara Spiral Technique, he heard a whisper in his ear, 

“Ok dude, this is awkward for both of us. Just calm down, we did this on reflex, or something like that. When I say go, we’re gonna get up and act like nothing just happened. Cool? Cool.”, Ryan closed his eyes as he readied himself to grab a pair of clothes and dash to the bathroom.

“3-2-1… Go!”

They both jumped out of bed, Ryan immediately averting his gaze from the other man’s eyes. He darted from place to place, grabbing his clothes from the suitcase, toothbrush on top of the dresser, coat from the windowsill, and other toiletries on the chair. 

A sigh that he didn’t know was being held inside released itself as he shut the door. All he had to do was calm down and get ready before the day started. Easy enough, right?

Wrong. Apparently the entirety of the world was trying to fuck him over, with the water in the sink not working, to him stubbing his pinky toe a solid 3 times in a 15 minute period of time. As he started brushing his teeth, he checked the time on his phone; it read a wonderful 5:45 am, 1:45 am LA time. Ryan wanted to die. The mirror-Ryan looked back at real Ryan with toothpaste dripping down his chin, a hawian shirt with lobsters on it, and a pair of black jeans. He looked nice, besides the toothpaste, of course. [this fit may or may not be based on an outfit i own and wear 😋]

“Ryan, are you good in there? I need to pee” Shane shouted from outside the door.

“Yeah, gimme a sec”

Ryan splashed his face with water, getting ready to face the world, very very early in the morning. Far too early in the morning.

He opened the door and was greeted by Shane’s dopey wake-up face smiling down at him.

“Uhhh dude, you got a little toothpaste there. Here, I gotcha” the taller man said as he reached down to wipe the side of Ryan’s face of stray toothpaste foam. The touch on his cheek lingered, until the other man drew his hand away and rushed into the bathroom. _‘wHAT IN ALL THAT'S GOOD AND HOLY WAS THAT??????”_ little Ryan screamed in his mind. Big Ryan silently scolded the version of him in his mind and made sure not to get his hopes up, _He’s straight, dude, you should know that._

At that exact moment, Shane walked out the door with no shirt on, and Ryan’s heart skipped a fucking beat. 

“Sorry, forgot my shirt” he said quickly, then slipped on an orange sweater he got from his suitcase.

Ryan made his way to the body-length mirror in the entrance hallway of their room, admiring himself and Shane. They looked like autumn had drunk a pumpkin spice latte, then threw up over them. ‘ _No, that’s not right’_ little Ryan said in his head. Immediately after little Ryan said that, he realized they looked like a wonderfully homosexual couple, with Shane looking like a shy lesbian and Ryan wearing almost the exact outfits shown in _bisexual fits!!_ videos he liked on tik tok. It was even worse that the colors in the outfits complemented each other. 

“Look at that, the Ghoul Boys are matching! We’re such cuties.” the other exclaimed, making Ryan blush.

Fuck.

***

They were now on a boat, too early in the morning, filming a video Ryan wasn’t too sure he had enough energy for. Ryan was also feeling very seasick on this boat.

“Ok! We’re on our way/at our first destination, the Statue of Liberty! We have our wonderful guide Kathrine over here who is going to tell us all about the history of the statue!”

Katherine waved as Shane continued into the vlog camera he was holding up, “Nice to meet you all! I’ve never really done anything like this before so it should be a learning experience for everyone!” 

Right as she finished her sentence, the loud speaker announced: **“15 MINUTES TO THE ISLAND, I REPEAT 15 MINUTES UNTIL WE DOCK”**

“Alright, I’ll do a quick summary of the history of it, then let you boys get off and see her! Origin of the statue: the French were super happy for the Americans after the civil war in 1865, because they were successful in building a democratic government, even after a hardship in their country. They thought there was no better way to do this than by building them a huge statue in celebration. It was commissioned to Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, him designing and building the statue, while the Americans would build the platform. This would also symbolize the bond between the countries’ people...”

At this point, Ryan began to space out. All of this felt like a long, boring history class, and he just enjoyed the sights. He knew that the statue was made out of copper and rust caused the green color, but that was mostly it. All he could imagine was thousands of immigrants being greeted with this after their voyage to America. It made him all soft on the insides, thinking about all the hardships they must’ve gone through.

“Ryan, are you...crying?”, Shane questioned, breaking Ryan out of his mind.

“Nope”, he sniffled, wiping away the tear that had fallen, “why would you ever think that”

“Oh-kay. Well anyway, we’re getting off the boat. Get ready to see Lady Liberty in all her glory.”

And glorious she was. No one ever really tells you how big the statue is until you’re face to face, craning your neck to see all of it. Ryan wandered around for a bit, letting the others do all the setting up and vlogging necessary for their video.Ryan’s breath caught as he took in all of what was in front of him, letting everything from all 5 senses seep into his body. The chill from the fall weather, the salty taste and smell from the sea, the looming figure in front of him, and the sounds of wind and caws of gulls. Shane then tapped his shoulder, looking as awe-struck as Ryan felt.

“I now understand why you were crying” he whispered. At that moment Ryan noticed the wetness on the other man’s face. He mindlessly reached up and wiped them away, then patted him on the shoulder. [i do the bare minimum of research for this, but 12:55 emily decided she had to pull out the measuring tape for this and see if it was possible. The lengths i go for y'all (jk i would not let myself write this unless i did this do not fret)] Once they both realized what he had just done, they both jumped from each other like Ryan’s touch caused them bodily harm.

“Dude, I am SO sorry. I don’t know what happened, I was just not thinking and I- I don’t know…”

The taller man laughed nervously and went, “Oh no, totally 100% fine haha” they stood awkwardly until Paul, the sound guy, walked up to them and said,

“Alright, both of you just look like you’ve seen a ghost, but we’ve gotta do interviews right on here.” They sat down and Shane jumped right in, 

“I always thought that the Statue of Liberty was kinda this shitty tourist thing weirdos did… but. Wow. I don’t know what it is about everything but all of this is quite the experience.”

“So you DO like touristy stuff! I told you tourism is better then hole-in-the-wall shit!”

“Hey hey hey, slow your roll little guy, all I said was I liked this specific experience.” the older exclaimed, getting worked up.

“Ok, ok. One day I’ll win you over.”

**“NOW BOARDING BOAT, 15 MINUTES UNTIL DEPARTURE”** The loudspeakers suddenly blared, alarming all of them and causing Paul to recoil in pain as it caught in the mike.

Shane caught him as everyone else was leaving and said, “Hey, this was actually really cool. Thanks” and walked away. Ryan stood there reeling until he watched Shane wave him over from the boat, like a proud kindergartener wanting to show their friend something on the playground. 

“Ry, get over here! I won’t get paid if we leave you here to die!” he shouted.

God, he was so in love with this idiot of a man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope that you all enjoyed!! I am also just realizing that this is gonna take much longer then i imagined it would so…. haha 🤠 
> 
> also the way that i have lived in nyc my entire life, yet while writing this i have looked up: “non-touristy things to do in nyc, new york weather during november, does australia use the same months as us” the australia one was at 1:32 in the morning as that is when i write, but still v scary I FORGOT MONTHS WERE WORLDWIDE
> 
> Leave a kudos and also please leave a comment if you enjoyed! I know this sound so cheesy but yall literally MAKE MY ENTIRE DAY when you leave a comment
> 
> love all of you, stay safe <33333


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane's first activity!!!

**CH 6: Wednesday**

_ Mhhhhhhhmmmmmmm….. _ Shane did not want to get up. They didn’t have to get up as early as they did yesterday, but the sun peeking through the blinds of their hotel room was not helping him get back to sleep.  _ Wait, didn’t the plane give you an eye mask? Just use that!! _ ‘ Oh yeahh ’, Shane responded to the little Shane in his mind. He debated reaching for it for a moment, knowing it would probably be shitty material and not very comfortable, but then opened his eyes and was blinded by the sun. 

He untangled himself the bare amount he could that would allow movement, reaching over Ryan’s body to get the mask on the bedside stand. Yes, they had coincidentally ended up spooning yesterday, and yes they were halfway-spooning today. So what. Shane convinced himself it meant nothing, that he should just back off for Steven and Ryan to get together and watch them fall and jove and get married and have kids and Shane… would die alone, with Obi’s grandchildren by his side. He was starting to go into the bad part of his spiraling, the i-might-have-a-panic-attack-but-also-might-have-a-heart-attack-oh-god stage of worrying, when Ryan’s sleeping body raised his arms, grasping air and whimpering.

“Ry-Ryan? Are you ok? It’s just me” Shane whispered, trying to appease the other man while not waking him. He waved his hand above Ryan’s face, either at the right or wrong time if you thought about it, right when the sleeping man’s outstretched arms were going directly that way. Ryan’s hands brushed Shane’s forearm, then immediately grabbed on and pulled down. Shane was now half on top of Ryan’s body, his arm being used like a toy a toddler cuddles with.

“Uh, Ry? C-can I just fix myself real quick? Then you can have my arm back, don’t worry.” He quickly adjusted himself to be less on top of Ryan (not that he didn’t want to be on top of Ryan, just that he would rather that happened in a more… sexual context) and more snuggled up with him. ‘ It’s fine, friends cuddle sometimes! Like-like ummmmm…. OH Sara used to snuggle with her one friend all that time and that was just pla-oh wait no yeah they’re dating now. Ok, maybe this means something, but who are we kidding no it doesn’t ’ Shane reasoned with himself, trying to make excuses and convince himself that he shouldn't read into their situation.

If he did, it would make things a lot easier for both of these blundering fools. But of course, you know the name of this,  _ The Idiot Called Shane Madej _ , so obviously we’re all gonna internally cringe for a bit. My dearest apologies.

His heartpace sped up and he realized that falling back asleep would only happen if he just let this happen and to get comfy while it does. Ryan snuffled and Shane about died from adoration, then he slowly slid his knee in between the other man's legs. His heart calmed down and he slowly fell back to sleep, letting future Shane deal with the issue at hand. 

A shiver ran down his spine as he woke up, missing the warm body he had fallen asleep cuddling. The shower was on, so he assumed either Ryan was showering, or someone had trapped Ryan somewhere Shane couldn’t see then go run the shower for some reason. He assumed it was the other one though. Shane opened his phone to check the time, which read 7:51. He then opened the camera to see how bad his bed head was. There were lines from the wrinkles in Ryan’s shirt imprinted on his face, and brown hair sticking all directions. Right as a sigh left his mouth, a short, muffled sound came from the bathroom, followed by a high pitched “Sha-”. To Shane’s half asleep mind, it sounded like the sound Obi made when he would accidentally step on the cat’s tail. 

“Ryan! Are you ok in there?” he shout-mumbled from the bed.

“Uhhmm yeah! All good!” the other man yelled, his voice an octave higher then it usually would be. 

“Ok. Just checking” he said, opening up the weather app to see how cold it would be that day. He was aware he didn’t usually get cold in November, but he still didn’t want Ryan to see him be cold. Ever. 

Shane was about to get up when Ryan exited the bathroom, towel fixed dangerously low for Shane’s horny little mind, beads of water dripping down the other man’s chest, and curls starting to form. Shane was staring, but he could not seem to care.

“Sorry, I just forgot a shirt. I’ll be out in a sec” the younger said as he grabbed something from his bag and dashed back into the bathroom. Shane had to physically shake his head to clear his mind of the image of his half naked friend, knowing his morning boner would develop into more of an issue if it continued.

He finally decided to get up and pick out his clothes for the day when Ryan walked out with clothes on and Shane was able to get ready for the day. They were doing his first activity, going on a pierogi tour in the East Village. He had heard of the tour from his relatives that lived in Jersey, who had gone and raved about the, quote, “nice young man who did the tour” so Shane thought it had potential. He was able to find it and convince Ryan that it would be fun and something good to film, then he booked it. 

***

They arrived at the meeting place around 15 minutes early, in front of a run-down restaurant. Ryan had been acting weird all morning, avoiding Shane’s eyes and acting like a scared dog. Little Shane started screaming at him in the car after Ryan started scooting as far away as he could in the small cab. He hadn’t stopped yet. 

_ ‘ Shit shit shit, he found out you have a crush on him!!! You’ve ruined the company you good for nothing piece of shit ’  _ Shane let himself go on autopilot for the beginning explanation of their activity, focusing on the anxiety-caused rant his inner being was going on. He could feel his breath becoming shallower by the second, fighting to catch a good breath of air.

“Shane! Are you alright?” Ryan snapped at the taller man’s face, worry etched on his features. 

“Umm, yeah. Sorry.” Shane focused back on their activity, the anxiety lodging itself in his stomach after being forgotten. They were introducing the camera to their guide Greg. He had shaved, light grey hair, a kind smile, and reminded him of some distant Madej relative. Shane could understand why his family liked him.

“Hey there viewers! I’m really excited to be here, and get ready to see Shane and Ryan experience the sights and tastes of the city!” Greg waved at the camera. He walked inside the restaurant to get their food, so the team filmed the boy’s intro.

“Well, as we all know, I am Polish, so this should be exciting!” he turned to Ryan and said, “what would you say if i told you I've never had a pierogi before”

“Now that you’ve said that, I’m worried you’ll turn into some Polish superhero, guided by pierogi slash heritage magic” the other man said with a large smile, causing Shane to wheeze and respond with,

“What would my name be?”

“Poland Man! Wait- no--- Captain Poland, guided by his pierogi powers!!” they were both sent into a fit of laughter, not being able to speak until Greg finally came back with their food.

They devoured them, both saying how good they were and disappointed Shane did not get superhuman powers. (Ryan crossed off the chances of him being a superhero in his mental list of  _ Supernatural things Shane May Be _ . Demon was still on the table though.)

It was starting to get colder as the afternoon went on, and Ryan slowly started shivering as Greg droned on about the history of this weird church they were outside of. 

“Hey,” Shane whispered to Ryan, “do you want my sweater? I’m a little warm anyways” Ryan glared up at him and shook his head. Right as he looked back down, he fell into another fit of shivering. 

“You sure?” Shane looked at him, shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

The other man sighed, “Fine.” and slipped on the sweater. It was a bit longer on the arms and body, reaching Ryan’s mid thigh where it ended at Shane’s waist regularly. “Thank you.”

“No problem dude. I don’t think this video would be very good if you died of hypothermia.” Ryan chuckled and Greg looked at them. They both froze and focused back on what he was saying, like two students caught talking during class.

***

The tour finally finished, with the entirety of the team’s feet starting to ache with all the walking. They said goodbye, then hailed a cab to get back to their hotel for dinner. They ordered 3 cars, with two coming almost immediately and the other getting in a slight traffic delay. The boys let the crew go before them, waving as the cars started on the roads.

“Not gonna lie, that was really fun” Ryan said as he looked up at the taller man.

“I’d hope so. I’m gonna win this competition” Shane replied, scrolling through twitter on his phone. Ryan continued to stare at him incase he gained interest in the conversation, finally mumbling,

“Hey dude. I’m sorry about this morning. I get it if you were uncomfortable or whatever. If you want I can get a cot tonight” Shane was shocked, looking at him and saying,

“Wait, what happened this morning? D’you mean when we cuddled? Ohhhh, that's fine… it was more me initiating it so no problem. Just stay in the bed.” Ryan gave him a look Shane couldn’t read, then murmured,

“Oh. Thanks.”

“No problem little guy. You’re nice to cuddle with anyways.”

“Same to you big boy.”

They smiled at each other, looks on their faces that they had never given each other before. The atmosphere changed, and Shane studied Ryans features as they stared. He had a blush on the tip of his nose from the cold (but what Shane wished was for him) and a slight sprinkle of freckles on his cheeks. He noticed the way Ryan smiled, a little part in the middle making it look like a little heart, all for Shane.

“Ummm” Ryan breathed, “I- I think the car’s here.” Shane was brought back to reality, the noises of a honking car flooding his ears. He looked to the street to the sight of a very angry man honking his horn at them.

“Oh-- ok.” 

They shuffled into the car, not mentioning their moment, how close they were even though they didn’t have to be, or how to any outsider they looked like a couple, just appreciating their love for one another during that moment. 

They also didn’t mention how Ryan kept Shane’s sweater on for the rest of the day, falling asleep with the long arms around his hands, breathing in Shane as he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey team! sorry this is late, i forgot about it and also had two very busy school weeks lolz. also, the activity they did is real!!! the link to his website is: https://www.gregwalksnyc.com/ so check that out if you were interested!
> 
> comments/kudos are very appreciated! love you all, stay safe <3!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanksgiving day baybe!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so hey team this is pretty late. I've been busy and also this is quite a meaty chapter. Get so excited cause I really create a storyline of shane’s relatives that could be a fic on its own so yeah basically. Also there's some fun homophobia action thrown in there so be wary if that could be triggering for u (usage of f*g). fuck this asshole character i made up

**CH 7: Thursday**

Ryan’s time in New York was going... well. Both in the ‘this is good’ definition, and the thing people say before the sentence when giving you bad news. On one hand, he was having a great week and filming good content for Tourist Trapped. He knew their fans would eat this shit up once Shane suggested it, and a trip to NYC sounded like a blast.

On the other hand, he had been the most awkward motherfucker on the entire planet for the past 4 days. He couldn’t have a real conversation with Shane without his piece of shit heart beating its way out of his chest, almost causing him a heart attack a few times. As well as the fact that he basically came out at the beginning of this trip. Oh, also him and Shane had been cuddling all of the nights, which was very enjoyable, but also did not help the _Stop Ryan Bergara From Falling In Love With Shane Madej_ cause. This cuddling also fed into his terrible Shane-related masturbation material. The material that almost got him caught doing ungodly acts yesterday after some not very muffled sounds escaped his mouth in the shower.

In total, Ryan was going to combust. He would be the first _Buzzfeed: Solved_ case they would ever study. 

***

At least today was one of the easier of their activities. Thanksgiving day meant they were going to watch the Macy’s parade, then they were going to eat Thanksgiving at Shane’s relatives' place in NJ and sleep there. It all sounded pretty fun.

_‘ This is not as fun as it sounded ’_ he thought as his phone alarm blared with a blurry 4:45 am flashing on his screen. He untangled himself from Shane’s limbs, then turned to look at the older man’s face. His unkempt brown hair fell over his eyes, a little drool was coming out of his mouth, and a small smile formed from some dream Ryan assumed he was having. Ryan was absolutely _enchanted_ as he reached over and shook the big guy’s shoulder to wake up.

“Shane. C’mon, we gotta see Tommy!” he whispered.

“Why do you wanna see Tommy? He’s an absolute asshole” the man replied, the words said in the half sleep/half awake phase Shane was in.

“Turkeys can be assholes?” Ryan was taken aback as he learned new information about his favorite animatronic turkey. Shane looked at him quizzically as he actually woke up for the day.

“Wha-- turkey? I was talking about my cousin’s husband we’re gonna see.”

“Oh ok. I thought I had missed some twitter thread about the cancelation of Tommy the Turkey.”

“Nope. What time is it anyway?” Shane said as he reached to the bedside table and grabbed his phone and glasses. He shoved the glasses on, then opened his phone. The other man’s face turned into a scowl as he looked up from the screen.

“Ryan?”

“What’s up?”

“Why did you wake us up at 4:45 am?”

“Cause we’re seeing the parade” he said with a kid-on-christmas type excitement. 

“And why did you feel the need to wake us up this early?” Shane questioned.

“The mommy blogs said that you should get on the route really early, so I wanted to wake you up with enough time to wake up cause I know you don’t like early mornings so I thought maybe if i woke you up it would be ok. Also-” Ryan paced as he explained the plans to the half-asleep Shane in bed, “so we have to get up and leave to get a sp--” 

“Dude.” Shane interrupted.

“Yeah bro?”

“Our hotel is on the route. We can watch from the window.”

The words took a second to process in Ryan’s mind, slowly understanding the error of his actions. Being raised as a people pleaser who was afraid of confrontation, Ryan immediately started spewing apologies.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I still had the alarm set for the plans when we didn’t have the hotel booking and i guess i just kept it? I’m really so sorry, I know you hate morenings and were already pretty against this-- aww fuck dude, you probably hate me don’t cha--” 

While Ryan was freaking out, Shane had walked over to where he was pacing and grabbed both of his shoulders. Ryan looked down in shame, expecting the pissed Shane he got on shoots when he was so convinced there was a presence in the room they were staying at and couldn’t sleep. He actually got two long arms wrapped around him in a hug that gave off very ‘this is the first time I’ve ever touched a human being affectionately” feel, but nice nonetheless.

“Hey. Look at me,” a soft touch on his chine guided him to eye contact, “it's totally fine. We all make mistakes. Now let's get back to bed, shall we?”

***

They ended up falling asleep again, finally waking up at the correct time and getting ready. Neither of them mentioned the fact that Ryan was still wearing Shane’s sweater from yesterday. Shane went downstairs to meet with the crew and pick up some breakfast, preparing for the wait ahead of them.

When planning their trip, Ryan had scoured the web for tips for the best parade viewing experience. Professional tour guides, mommy blogs, the New York Times, Steven, you name it, he used it in his research. His original plan was to get up super early and get a spot along the parade route, but Shane accidentally booked a hotel already on the route. [im calling myself out on this plot hole right here…. like a hotel on the parade route would not be in budget for them in any way….. i apologize for everything wrong with this story, i literally write each chap from nothing each week at like 1 am i’m so sorry] All Ryan had to do now was move two chairs in front of the window and set up cameras for their viewing. How hard could that be?

Apparently quite hard. The chairs were heavy enough that Ryan had to slowly push them to the spots he wanted them, making little lines of dirt from where they were to their new home. Also, the camera angle that would give them the perfect amount of light showed most of their room, so either he would have to move the chairs again or clean most of the room. There was also the problem that even when the rest of their room wasn’t shown, in almost every angle their single bed could be seen. This worried Ryan the most out of all their issues, because of his mother’s tendencies to assume something was happening romantically between Shane and him. Sure, that was also what he wanted out of their relationship, but he didn’t really feel like having little Linda Bergara asking how, quote, “that nice boyfriend of yours is doing” and outing his crush to Shane.

After rummaging through their little filming bag a bit more, he was able to find a small backdrop that would just fit the two chairs and show none of their bedroom. Ryan was also able to clean up most of the dirt the chair left, and assumed/hoped the rest would come out with a quick vacuum. The lights and camera fit right as he intended them to, making their setup finally complete.

Ryan dusted his hands off on his shorts content with his job, looking around like a 50 year old white father after they mowed the lawn for the first time in weeks. He heard the door open, and watched as Shane peeked his head in then walked in with various food-items.

“Looking good! Also I brought you some food-stuffs. They were closing down breakfast and I thought you would probably want some.” he explained as a cardboard takeout box was pushed into his hands. He stood there shell-shocked for a minute, surprised over the kind gesture.

“What’d you get?”

“Uhh, some danishes, eggies, a bagel, and some cereal. Oh, also got you a cup ‘a joe.” a warm coffee cup was placed on top of the box in Ryan’s hands.

“Milk an-” he was interrupted.

“Splash of milk, one sugar just like how you get. They didn’t have oat milk, so I just used soy milk. I hope that’s alright.” 

“Thank you so much dude. I really appreciate it.” Shane looked down at his shoes bashfully and Ryan took a sip of his coffee. “Anyways, lets go sit. I think the parade should be starting soon.”

***

The parade started a few minutes after they sat down, Ryan snacking on his breakfast and batting Shane’s hands away when he tried to steal some food. Balloons passed by, but neither of them were able to get a good look due to how close they were to the buildings. There had been some floats with random celebrities neither of them knew, some with singing children, and a Sesame Street one that had a character Shane said ripped The Professor off. He was talking about Elmo. 

Eventually, the parade started finishing up and the two biggest events were left, Santa and Tommy. Ryan was alerted of these two as he heard the clucking sown the street, and was met with a huge fucking anamtronic bird head in his face. It was amazing. Santa was fine, with just normal Santa stuff happening, but Shane got weirdly excited about him. When Ryan asked him about this, he responded with,

“When I was little Santa was my imaginary friend, so I’m kinda the guys biggest fan.” somehow Ryan was not totally blown away by this answer.

That was the final event of the parade, so they wrapped up then went to the lobby of the hotel. Ryan and Shane had decided that the crew didn’t really need to come to thanksgiving, so they were off the hook for most of the day. They had rented a car to drive to Shane’s relatives place, and forgetting the fact that they would have to pick up said van. Ryan grumbled as Shane apologized, then realized it was only a few blocks and everything would be fine. 

“So who are we meeting today Shane?” Ryan said, turning to Shane while vlogging their walk.

“Ummm… My grandma and grandpa, my dad’s siblings and their spouses, which includes the Tommy I told you about this morning!”

In some fun game of word recognition, Ryans brain immediately supplied, 

“Oh the asshole, right!”

“Yep! Also,” Shane looked directly at the camera Ryan was holding, “future Shane, edit that out. Tommy does happen to follow Watcher”

“Thank you dear supporter Tommy, sorry I called you an asshole” Shane wheezed and Ryan was sent into a fit of giggles. They walked and chatted some more, both of them rating their parade viewing experiences, until they finally reached the rental garage. The nice man at the desk handed Ryan the keys and they were off on their journey to New Jersey.

***

Shane’s grandma’s house was nice, a greyish-blue base and white trimming along the lines, accentuating both the river behind the house and the bright magenta roses by the stairs. It gave off the exact vibe of the White Grandma™ Ryan saw on TV. As he looked by the door the stairs led up to, he saw the exact stereotypical white grandma he was imagining, with the same stereotypical white grandpa to match. He stood and watched Shane walk over to them and receive a joint bear hug from the both of them. They started talking, then Shane looked over at him and waved him over to their conversation.

“-yeah so this is Ryan, he’s my partner and I wanted you guys to meet him!” Shane’s grandpa extended a wrinkly hand, introducing himself.

“I’m Paul, and this is my wife Ba-” His wife interrupted him.

“Hi dear! I’m Barb, short for Barbra, but no one calls me that. It’s so nice to meet you! Shane talks so much about you, and I have just been DYING to meet you!” Ryan looked over at Shane, whose face was entirely read and looked absolutely horrified. He imagined this was the face detectives made when they solved a huge murder case and realized it was too late, they had lost the suspect. Ryan looked back to Barb and Paul, shaking Paul's hand while responding to them.

“It’s so nice to meet you too!” He heard a shout from the kitchen, saying something around the lines of the fact that the turkey was almost ready.

“Dinner’s almost ready, so why don’t you boys go grab your stuff over there,” she pointed to the half unloaded car, with its trunk still open, “I can get one of the guys inside to come help you.”

They walked back to the car to get the little bit of filming equipment they had brought with them. 

“You’ve told them about me?” Ryan asked while they were walking.

“Yeah. I mean, you’re really important to me” he stopped and turned to Ryan, “we do happen to own a company together.”

“Oh, so you just like me for Watcher, huh?” Ryan tried to joke, but it came out more accusatory as he started to walk away.

Shane grabbed his hand and pulled him back,

“No, no, no. You know you’re one of my best friends right? I couldn’t function without you dude.” he said something else under his breath that Ryan couldn’t really hear, both because it was too quiet, as well as the fact that his hearing had disappeared after the older man expressed affection towards him. All common sense left him, so he wrapped his arms around Shane’s waist and nuzzled his face into the other man’s chest. He breathed in, and allowed himself to imagine what this trip would be like in the pretense they were a couple. Shane would introduce Ryan to his family as his partner not only in business, the family might do the thing all families do with a new person and actually be interested in him. Shane wrapped his arms around the smaller man’s frame.

“Thanks.” he said, looking up to Shane’s face and staring at him. They just looked at each other for a bit, no words said but Ryan communicating everything he wished he could through his eyes. Shane ended up breaking the silence.

“Um. Ryan?” he murmured.

“Yeah?”

“I- I-“ he was interrupted by a man walking towards them, down the hill from the house.

“Yo, Shane! What’s happening in fairyland over there?”

Shane stiffened, then untangled himself from the hug, keeping their hands intertwined.

“Hi Tommy.”

“Is this Ryan? Grandma was telling me about him,” by the time Tommy finished the sentence he had reached where they were standing and shoved a hand at Ryan to shake, “I’m Tommy. My wife is Mark’s older brother’s daughter, but Shaney and I were buds when we were little.”

Ryan smiled curtly and shook his hand.

“I’m Ryan, but it seems like you already knew that.”

The man turned to Shane.

“You need help unloading the car?”

“No, I’m good,” Shane looked at Ryan, “You need any help Ry?”

“I’m alright.”

Shane turned back to the man staring at them with a strange look.

“We’re good, thanks though!”

***

The cameras and sound equipment had been set up in the dining room, Ryan met all of Shane’s relatives attending dinner, and the turkey had come out of the oven. Shane’s aunts said Ryan was “so handsome and well spoken,” and “how they just loved him and Shane, they were just too cute”, while the men laughed at this happening. Ryan learned about Shane’s past in home movie making and saw some baby photos of little Shane in the bathtub. Kids and dogs that reminded him of Micki and Dori ran around his legs, playing with the napkins and making paper crafts for the adults. Ryan also learned that the resident “demon” of watcher had a baby voice for these pups, which he was witnessing for the first time after dinner had ended and the adults meandered on the porch. 

“Oh you’re so cute!” the little white dog licked Shane’s nose, “oh and so silly!! What a cute little baby girl, I could just eat you up couldn’t I!” Ryan watched from a more secluded part of the lawn, hand covering his mouth to hide both his smile and bright red blush. He noticed Tommy out of the corner of his eye, stumbling over to where Ryan was standing.

“So, how's your first Madej family event going?”

“Good. It’s nice to see him so happy, both cause he never sees any of you and california, and just for my general want to see him thrive” he glanced over to Tommy staring at him intensely, and chuckled as he said, “That was probably too much information, wasn’t it.” 

Shane appeared at Ryan’s side out of no where, cradling the little dog like a baby.

“Ry! Look at how cute--” his face fell as he saw Tommy behind Ryan, “oh. Hey Tommy.”

[homophobia starts here :)]

“What are you so mad about? Keep telling your little _‘partner’_ (he said the word the way that homophobic kid in your highschool would call people by they/them pronouns. If you don't know what I’m talking about, it’s really delightful to see.) about how cute the dog is?” Tommy flashed him a mocking smile, and Ryan realized why Shane called him an asshole.

“You know Tom, if you’ve got a problem with me just say it.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare say anything bad in front of that little boyfriend of yours!” Ryan looked startled at Shane, who was becoming increasingly more angry by the second. He reached out his hand to touch Shane’s and went to go say something before Shane said,

“Can you please just call us fairies or something like that and go on your way?” he looked the man up and down, “I remember you being much more upfront about assholeness when we were in highschool, but I guess you’ve just pussied down, huh?” Shane’s voice started to increase in volume as he continued talking

This entire sentence hit Ryan like a sucker punch given by a freight train. First, what the fuck, second, what the fuck, and third, WHAT THE FUCK??? But actually, why did Tommy think they were dating (and more importantly, why did Shane, the straight man, allow them to think that?), second, why did Shane ASK to be called a fairy, and third, when could Shane ever get this scary? The only time Ryan could remember him being this scary was when he blew up that one time right after starting Watcher, their stress levels all super high and something had just set him off. He was brought back to his senses by Tommy speaking again.

“Since you asked so nicely, why don’t you faggots get out of here? I don't want my kids getting brainwashed by your fairy bullshit.” he spat.

[and homophobia done :)]

The next events seemed to happen in slow-mo, as Shane grabbed Tommy’s shoulder, pulled his arm back, and landed a punch directly on the left side of his nose, resulting in a sickening crack. Other relatives started to rush over after they heard this, not realizing the events that happened prior to the punch. Tommy planted a punch on Shane’s right cheek, then brought his foot back to prepare to meet with Shane’s groin. Right before the dress shoe could meet Shane’s prized jewels, a woman pulled Tommy away and onto the floor. Time sped back up, and Ryan rushed to Shanes side. He grabbed the taller man’s face in his hands, examining the damage that occurred and to see what headspace Shane was in.

“Shane, love, Are you ok?” he whispered. Shane also seemed to snap back into the present, leaning into Ryan’s left hand.

“Yeah, I should be. Sorry you had to see this.” he looked away from Ryan’s eyes.

“No. Thank you for defending m- us.” Shane’s grandma walked over to them, worry in her eyes.

“Are you two ok? I’m so sorry this happened, I really thought that Tommy had gotten over his homophobic bullshit, but I guess not.” she looked both of them in the eyes, “I’m so sorry you boys have to put up with this stuff all the time.”

“Uh, it's no problem Grandma. How could you have known?”

“True, but I still feel horrible. I just wanted a good Thanksgiving for us all.”

“It was great! Also, thank you for taking our side Barb. I know it’s hard for families to disown the bad apples, and you’ve all been so kind.” Ryan added.

“Thank you dear. We’ve always tried to be accepting of our little Shane, and I keep trying to tell Laurie, his wife, about Tommy’s true colors, but never really got the chance,” she sighed, “anyways, I’m gonna go see what’s up over there, you let me know if you need anything, ok?” they both nodded and Barb walked away.

“I have a question, and you can totally choose not to answer, but why did your grandma say she’s always tried to be accepting of you?” Ryan asked as they walked inside to go to bed.

“Well. I think you might be able to tell in a bit, so I’ll just let you do that” Shane explained as he opened the door, revealing a room that looked like a teen-Shane stayed there at one point in time. Posters from his favorite movies, a shitty little tv, a nice desk tucked in a corner, and a bi pride flag on the wall. wAIT what??? What was a pride flag doi--- 

All of everything clicked into place right then. He looked up at Shane’s nervous face.

“Why’d you never tell me?” he mumbled.

“I just thought you would find out, but I’ve kinda been on a guy-dry patch right now. But yeah, now you know: Shane Madej, total bi-con.”

Another thing clicked into place in Ryan’s mind,

“Wait, so all night did your family think we were a couple?” he exclaimed. Shane giggled and said they might’ve.

They got in bed, a tighter fit than their hotel, but not as small as some of the places for Unsolved.

“Welp, night night big boy.” he looked over to Shane’s face illuminated by his phone screen, face squished into the pillow.

“Good night Ry-guy.” he locked his phone and put it next to Ryan’s on the nightstand, then reached out to trail his hand on Ryan’s jaw and lean in and plant a kiss on Ryan’s lips. Ryan hummed in delight, allowing himself to relax into the soft lips on his. 

_‘ wAIT WHAT????? ’_ little Ryan screamed as he fell asleep with Shane’s hand still on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: *LAUGHS MANIACALLY*
> 
> Anyways, hope ya’ll enjoyed this chap! It was so long and also i have a love/hate relationship with it. Id also like now to mention that my schedule is a bit more busy, so expect updates less often, but i'll still try to do a chapter every two weeks!!! I'm gonna try to make them more substance filled though so... yeah. also do not worry, i am determined to finish this.
> 
> anyways, leave a comment/kudos if ur enjoying it so far!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> final activity! whats gonna happen???

**CH 8: Friday**

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. 

Fuck.

Shane was an idiot. Shane was an idiot whose face was currently throbbing from bruising. Shane was also an idiot who had kissed his best friend/business partner/co-host/longtime crush the night before. Jesus christ, he was gonna die.

_ “Ok, so we’ve covered you’re a dumb fucking idiot, now how are we gonna handle this???” _ the little Shane paced in his mind, trying to think of how he could fuck everything up the least. Little Shane imagined up a little easel and started writing the pros and cons of each option.

_ “Option 1: Distance yourself _

_ Pros: Easy, less awkwardness, no talking, can try to end crush _

_ Cons: Video still needs to be filmed, this crush is never going to end so don’t act like it will, you’ll miss Ryan and be sad”  _ little Shane read from the paper.

‘Ehhhhhh. Not the best, but also not the worst. Next please!’ he thought to himself.

_ “Option 2: Talk to him _

_ Pros: Communication, relationship possibilities (he seemed to enjoy the kiss???), less anxiety about all of this _

_ Cons: Communication, awkward for rest of video, could end up destroying everything you’ve worked so hard to build, loose Ryan forever (possibility)” _

‘Nope. I’d rather gouge my own eyeballs out of the sockets. Next!’

_ “Option 3: Ignore the issue _

_ Pros: If you pretend it never happened you could forget about it, the company is saveable, stay friends with Ryan, good for video _

_ Cons: Please stop doing this Shane, you need to communicate you-” _

‘Ok perfect this one sounds GREAT!!! Thank you little guy, won’t be needing you anytime soon!!’ he mind-yelled as little Shane dragged his feet to leave, obviously angry at big-Shane’s decision.

Ryan opened his eyes and looked at Shane.

“Good morning baby. Hungry?” he asked. Ryan did not seem to register for a few seconds, just staring at Shane, then whispered, 

“Did you punch someone yesterday?” he reached out to touch the side of Shane’s face that Tommy had, in fact, punched.

“Uhhh. Yeah. Anyways, you hungry little guy?”

“I could eat. What’re we doing t’day?”

“We’re gonna see the ghosties,” Ryan nodded in understanding, “c’mon, let's get up”

Shane rolled out of the bed, then reached out a hand for Ryan to take. He got out of the bed, then they both silently got dressed. Shane slipped out of the little room to the bathroom, his grandma interrupting him before he could get back into the room.

“Good morning hun! How’d you sleep?” she questioned.

“Good. The bed’s a bit smaller than we’re used to, but we made it work.” His aunt beamed at him.

“That’s good! I hope Ryan isn’t too scared of us after yesterday. Y’all are just the cutest little couple and I really hope this entire experience doesn’t freak him out! I mean, the way you two look at eachother--absolutely adorable!” 

This weekend’s interactions had definitely dug the  _ Ryan and Shane are Dating Hole _ a  bit lot deeper. He  _ could _ tell her now, but that would just end in some embarrassment on both sides.

“Uh. Thanks. I think he really likes you guys!”

“Alright, breakfast’s gonna be ready soon, so get all ready and get your little booties down stairs for some chow!”

Shane walked back into the room to Ryan frantically searching through the bag he had brought with him.

“Whoa dude, are you ok?” Shane asked.

Ryan looked at him, worry etched onto his face, then responded, “I didn’t bring another sweater. It’s below freezing Shane! What am I gonna do!” his hands started shaking, causing Shane to reach out and steady Ryan.

“Slow down bud! You go washup in the bathroom, I’ll try and find one of my old sweaters that’ll fit you. Look at me,” Shane tilted Ryans face up, “it’ll be fine. Say it with me-- it’ll-”

“It’ll be fine” the other man mumbled, then scurried off to the bathroom. Shane started looking through the drawers of stuff from the summer in college he spent with his grandparents. He definitely remembered stealing some jacked ex boyfriend’s hoodie, he just had to find it…

“Ahh! Here it is!” he held the carmine red sweatshirt up, examining the image that was on the front. That was the part he couldn’t remember about it, but now that he saw, oh ho ho, was he delighted Ryan would be wearing it. The little face of paddington bear in a bright yellow rain hat smiled at Shane, white writing saying  _ Paddington Bear is my Friend! _ circling the print. He brought it to his nose, wondering if the musty scent of old clothes had appeared. There was a little hint of it, so he walked over to his bag, took out his cologne, and spritzed it on the inside bit. Hopefully that would help Ryan not smell terrible (and smell like Shane at the same time, but he wouldn’t admit that to anyone other than himself.)

“Oh you asshole! How’d you get that? Ryan looked over Shane’s shoulder at the sweatshirt.

“Old boyfriend left it here like 10 years ago, he didn’t want it back after he broke up with me so it kinda lives here. Thought it would fit”

“Well, I give your old boyfriend credit for good taste in sweet little bears, but not great for for breaking up with you” 

“I still don’t get your obsession with paddington. Is it a kink or something?”

The morning flew by after that, chats with family and planning for a full Madej family reunion.

“C’mon loverboy, we’ve gotta go. Gotta get ready for my final activity!” he called out to Ryan, who was playing princesses with some of Shane’s nieces (they were actually his cousin’s daughters, but Shane never really cared to look up the actual name for that so they were just his nieces) across the room. He nodded in acknowledgement, then curtseyed to the little girls and walked over. They said goodbye to the family, then made their way over to the rental car.

“It’s nice seeing you with your family, and meeting them at that.”

“I miss them when I’m in LA, and I knew my grandma had really been missing me.” he looked down at his feet and mumbled, “also she really wanted to meet you”

“Wow, I’m Mr. Popular, aren't I big boy?”

“You said it, not me.” they both chuckled, arriving at the car and getting inside. Shane put on his music that Ryan “hated” (even though Ryan knew almost all the words to Sober to Death by now).

They got back to their hotel, showered, got changed for Shane’s activity, then meandered to the lobby for snacks before they left. Shane was munching on a muffin when Ryan approached him with the vlog camera.

“It's our last activity of the trip! How you feel, bigfoot?” Ryan pointed the camera at his face.

“Pretty good, pretty excited to see you get scared over the ghosties that haunt NYC” 

“Shut up Shane.” Shane gave the camera a shit eating grin, then opened his phone to see when the car they ordered was coming.

“Car’s here.”

***

It was fucking cold. Shane had his pair of nice gloves, a hat, and his its-kinda-freezing-but-not-like-freezing-freezing-but-really-cold jacket on. He was somehow still a little chilly. 

This meant the little guy would not stop complaining.

“Shaaaaaane, I’m cold!! Why did you choose an outdoor activity during the fall?” he whined.

“Ry, listen to the lady talk about Sir. Winchester. The next place we stop I’ll give you my gloves,” he looked Ryan in the eye “is that good? will you stop complaining now?” Ryan nodded and they continued walking.

“Now, we’re reaching the Gavinshire home. The most notable spirit that lives here is the late Edward Gavinshire, which is how it gets its name. He was bullied all of his life for being tall compared to the people of his time, while he actually only stood at about 6 ft. He eventually was publicly executed as a priest believed his height gave him a connection to hell. Rumor says that he will interact with any man shorter than 5’11, 5’10ish, as they were the people who made his life miserable. Let’s go on in” the guide explained as they walked the streets of lower manhattan.

“He’s gonna haunt me!” Ryan whispered into Shane’s ear.

“No he’s not, ghosts aren’t real.” Ryan looked at him with the eyes he got on shoots for Unsolved, “but if you’re so scared you can initiate Unsolved protocol” Ryan immediately huddled up to Shane’s side, who then wrapped his arm around the shorter man. They opened the door, Shane and Ryan following the crew. This activity was basically if you smushed a true crime season and a supernatural season together, hearing about the stories of various crimes in the snacking places they stopped at, then going into a “haunted location”. Shane wasn’t super interested with the idea at first, but he hadn’t seen Ryan’s crazy/scared face for a while. That man really was scared of most everything.

Their guide, Amber, talked about the home’s history of mafia connections and possible murders after Edward. Of course Ryan got spooked over something “patting the top of his head” then yelled at Shane for fucking with him. Shane did not want to mention the fact he had not touched him.

After this they were basically done, walking back to the cemetery they met Amber at. Everyone was absolutely beat and agreed to film after-thoughts tomorrow and just get back to the hotel immediately. Ryan sat on the bed and Shane went to get ready for bed, assuming Ryan would be a normal human being and be able to get ready himself. He should’ve not made this assumption due to the fact that the other man was sitting in the exact same position, basically on a different planet of spacing-out. 

“Ry?” Ryan snapped out of his dazed state and looked up at Shane, “d’you want to get ready for bed?”

“Mhmm” he nodded.

“Do you need help?”

“Mhmm” he nodded.

“Alright my dear. Let’s get up, shall we,” and reached out a hand for Ryan to take, Ryan nuzzling into his chest upon connection. “Can you take off your shirt?”

“This is not how I thought this was gonna go...” Ryan whispered, causing Shane’s breath to catch in his throat.

“Umm. What do you mean by that?” he didn’t mean it right? Or it was a joke? Yeah, yeah, just silly Ol’ Ryan unknowingly joking about Shane’s greatest wish.

“Well you could maybe ask me out to dinner first” Shane nervously chuckled at that.

“C’mon bud, we’ve been out to dinner before!”

“But not that wayyyy,” Ryan whined into the man’s shirt, then looked up at Shane’s face, “I meant like in the kissy kissy way!”

“You’re quite tired, aren't you! Anyway..... this t-shirt looks sleep-in-able, you just gotta change your pants. I’m gonna let you do that” Shane babbled, and Ryan trudged off to slowly prepare for bed. Shane was about to turn off the lamp when Ryan looked at him and mumbled,

“Did’ya know you’re a good kisser? You are if you don’t. You make me feel like I’m the only guy in the world babe” the other man then fell asleep.

Fucking hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so tired but i really hope you all enjoyed!! also sorry about my posting habits, im just busy with school and also only write at like 1 am so thats why all of this is like this. also pet names really were my thing this chapter
> 
> leave a kudos/comment if you enjoyed and stay safe!!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ghoul boys have a free day in NYC. What're they gonna get up to? That's for me to write and you to read!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter question mark? i say question mark because I Literally Have No Clue if this will be the last chapter or not. lmk if you want some kind of epilogue type shabang

**CH 9: Saturday**

Ryan didn’t wake up anxious like he usually did these mornings.

No, today he let himself relax into Shane’s body behind him, and made a plan. He was going to finally get this asshole to be **HIS** asshole... or potentially ruin his entire future trying. He wasn’t gonna think about the last part though.

They booked the plane tickets for the trip before planning any of their activities, accidentally giving them one extra day of freetime before their trip back to LA tomorrow. Originally they had planned to just shove in an extra something for content-sake, but everyone just agreed to keep it at the even 2 to 2 ratio they had.

So Ryan was planning at 5:45 am on this beautiful Saturday morning. He knew that Shane had wanted to see a musical or play while they were on their trip, but hassling to be able to film even just around the theaters was too much. He also knew that Shane had saved them extra money by making them share rooms (and accidentally making them share a bed), so Ryan took it upon himself how to get tickets to shows the day of, which was how he was brought to the broadway lottery-explanation website. He looked at all the shows, entering his name and email in every single one he could possibly find. Ryan could already see the amount of spam emails he would be getting from Broadway.com for the rest of his life, but it was going to be well worth it. There was a good chance they could win some bad little show like the blue man group, but Ryan was hoping they would get one of the big ticket items, like Hamilton or Beetlejuice. 

So his plan was this: go to the show (if they won), be an insufferable flirt, then... smooch, he guessed. All he had to do was go back to sleep now, and hope for a good email in his future.

***

The next time he woke up was to a pair of soft lips on his forehead, then a mummering of, 

“C’mon. Let's get up love” Shane looked down at him, still tousled up from sleep, and reached out an arm for Ryan to take. Ryan accepted it, then wrapped his arms around Shane’s skinny frame. They held onto each other for a few seconds, no words said. Ryan took a deep breath in, untangling himself to go brush his teeth. There was a little knot of anxiety lodging itself in his stomach for the day, which Ryan was trying to breathe his way out of. Shane walked in without a shirt a few minutes later, going in to take a shower.

“Oh--um. Ni-nice? You look nice... yeah” Ryan sputtered. Why was real flirting so hard?

“Thanks? Are you almost done in here?”

“Uh yeah. I’ll get out of your hair right now” Ryan swiftly exited the bathroom, cringing at himself.

“Oh you motherfucker! You're such an idiot!” he whisper-shouted to himself as he looked through his suitcase for clothes. He dug through his bag looking for a sweater he had meant to pack, a big brown one that he got for christmas one year. _It should be in here_ , he thought, trying to retrace his steps to see if it had gotten lost anywhere in their room. Sure, he could rewear an outfit, but what was the fun in that? (Also, he had gotten every single long sleeved shirt he owned dirty over the past few days. What could he say? He’s a messy eater) He wanted that big, brown sweater.

Ryan kept digging around until Shane came out of the bathroom. Shane looked at him, then said.

“Ry? What’s goin on here?”

“Well-ok, so I really wanted to wear this one sweater on our last day here but I can’t find it. So I’m looking.” he explained, Shane looking down at him all the while.

“Which sweater?”

“Brown, cable knit, kinda huge... Have ya seen it?” Shane thought about it for a few seconds.

“I definitely remember seeing it at your house before we left. I moved it off the bed, put it down, and....oh no,” He looked Ryan in the eyes again, “I don’t think you packed it bud. I put it on the floor and we left pretty early the next morning.” Fuck. He was right. 

“Oh. Well fuck, what am I gonna wear?” Shane walked over to his suitcase, then pulled out a dark blue sweater.

“Wear this. It might not fit cause you're so short it’ll look like a dress, but you can try it.” 

“Sorry not all of us have bigfoot-like proportions big boy.” Shane laughed as he reached out, offering the sweater to the other man. Ryan took it, then slipped it on. It fit pretty nicely for a sweater that was meant for someone who was 6’4 on a 5’9¾ man.

“You look nice.” 

“T-thanks”

“No problem” Shane turned away to look for clothes to wear and Ryan slipped on a pair of black jeans. Right as he checked his phone, an email notification popped up.

**Congratulations!**

**Dear RYAN BERGARA,**

**You have won 2 tickets in the broadway lottery!**

YES! He clicked on the notification to see which of the shows, and hoped for a good one. Not that they all weren’t good, just Ryan would prefer to not have his relationship origin story to be at the Fish Bubble Show: Even More Bubbly!™, as most any person would.

Subject: **Congratulations!**

**Dear RYAN BERGARA,**

**You have won 2 tickets in the broadway lottery! Get ready to have the time of your life seeing: Waitress! Go to www.waitressthemusical.com/lottery/winner and enter the code: XQLT34J in the box.**

Hell yeah! There were still other things he had to read, but if we’re being honest here, I don’t really remember what the email format of winning the broadway lottery is, and also don’t really feel like wasting my energy on finding out what it is like. So, he clicked the link and entered the code, then got their ticket voutures. It was now time to break the good news to Shane.

Or.

He could surprise Shane later in the day. Oh, it would be fun to see the look on Shane’s face when Ryan would tell him. He would just say he wanted to do tourist shit in times square, then tell him. 

“Breakfast?” Shane questioned once he was done getting dressed. Yellow sweater with a white collared shirt underneath, and a pair of black chinos. It looked like a very relaxed cosplay of the dude from Curious George.

“Lets go” he took the hand that Shane offered, leaving their room to go to the lobby. They loaded up their shitty little hotel plates with stale danishes and cold sausages, then sat at a table. 

“So. What d’you wanna do today?”

“Go to times square and do touristy shit.” Shane sighed at this response.

“Really?” Shane was gonna give in, Ryan knew he just had to put up a fight beforehand so he didn’t seem as much of a pushover.

“Yup. C’mon, it’ll be fun!!”

“Fine. Can we go to the M & M store though?”

“Okay”

***

The boys finished breakfast, then hopped in a cab that dropped them off at the edge of the madness of Times Square. They did the montage Ryan dreamed of them doing, going to the tourist stores and getting I ❤️ NY t shirts, taking photos while stopping traffic, and getting roped into taking a photo with a guy who reeked of alcohol in an elmo costume. Ryan loved the photo though, with his terrified face and Shane looking at Ryan like he was the sun. 

But finally, it was Reveal The Fact He Had Won Tickets Time, so Ryan stopped them to sit on a bench.

“Ok dude. Today might be the best day of your life. Guess why”

“Ummm, I’m here in New York having the time of my life with my ghoulfriend?” ignoring the fact that Shane’s answer made him blush like a teenager, he did his big reveal.

“Nope! Well, yes, but also... I got tickets to Waitress!” Shane’s mouth dropped open as he looked at Ryan flabbergasted.

“Are you for real?”

“Yup! Here are the tickets!” he exclaimed, shoving the phone in Shane’s face, congratulations email open on it.

“Bergara! You rock! I- I could die or- I could kiss you right now! Like whoa, this really rocks! Thank you so much!” Shane babbled as Ryan just laughed.

“Well Bigfoot, I wouldn’t be too angry with you kissing me, but we’ve gotta get on our way there. Wouldn’t wanna miss it!” 

The two men rushed to the theater, going to the ticket check-in counter and paying the small amount they had to for the tickets. The ushers gave them pamphlets and showed them to their seats even though they were super early, so they sat people watching as all the other viewers arrived. They made sure to take selfies with the curtain, the other audience members, behind them, and even with the floor. It was safe to say they were really excited.

A usher came around with a baseball game vendor-esc basket of pamphlets and little jars of something Ryan couldn’t see.

“What do you think is in there?” Ryan tapped Shane, and moved his head in the direction of the usher finalizing a purchase with some other theater-goers.

“I do not know.... I can ask though,” he waved at the man, “Hey!”

He walked over to them, little waiter outfit on and a notepad in hand. 

“Yes, sir?” Usher asked.

“What’s in those little jars there?” 

“Oh, that’s pie sir. We have apple and blueberry, both which are $8 each, or $15 for two.” the usher explained, to which Shane started rummaging in his pocket.

“We’ll have one apple and one blueberry please!” Ryan turned to look at Shane, his shock obvious on his face.

“Are you sure, big guy?” Shane looked back towards him, and Ryan could see the worry on his face.

“What, d’you not want any? I thought you loved pie...”

“No! Just, I can pay for mine!” the usher stared at them. _Ugh. Can they just make out already, I gotta do my job!_ is about what his inner monologue was yelling, though he just quickly cleared his throat to bring attention to himself.

“No baby, my treat! You got us the tickets!” he finally turned back to Usher, a $20 in his hands, “Can you just keep the change? Like a tip, ya know?” Usher was shocked by this gratitude.

“Umm yeah. Here’s your pie, thank you so much! Have a wonderful time at the show!” he walked away, silently celebrating his victory of $5.

Right at that moment, the lights dimmed, and the speakers emitted a voice reminding everyone to silence their phones, and the general theater stuff they tell you. Ryan looked over at Shane who was eating his apple pie in happiness. There was still a small shadow of a bruise on his face with little pieces of crust stuck to the side of his mouth. Ryan reached out a hand to brush them off Shane glanced over at him at the touch. Both stared at each other, a feeling much like the first day washing over them. Shane finally reached to grab Ryan’s hand, then planted a light kiss on the back of his hand. Their fingers interlocked and they rested between their two seats. Their hands stayed like that for the rest of the show, even when one of the men had to wipe a tear or scratch an itch and a hand was removed. They always ended back in the same position, intertwined. 

***

The sun was gone by the time they exited the theater, so they walked hand in hand around Times Square. They acted like they hadn’t seen any of it before, a sort of childlike wonder going over them as they looked at the LED light screens.

“Woah”

“Woah” they were stopped by the place Ryan assumed the camera for the ball drop was (but on the ground), watching cars go by and taking everything in.

“Shane?” Ryan turned his entire body towards Shane.

“Yeah Ryan?”

“I’ve really loved these days with you. I-I really love-” Shane reached down, grabbed Ryans face, then kissed him. Their mouths molded together, as if they were destined to be kissing right then, right at that moment. If Shane could hear his inner monologue at that moment he would probably debate that, as no two human beings are truly _meant_ for eachother, however good a fit they may be for each other. But right now Ryans head was filled with one word: Shane. _Shane Shane Shane Shane Shane Shane Shane Shane Shane Shane Shane_ , it repeated and repeated as he let himself melt into the kiss.

They broke apart after what seemed like ages.

“This isn’t gonna be like a one time thing right?” Ryan questioned in the most vulnerable voice he had ever heard come out of his mouth.

“I don’t want it to. Can we make it a not one time thing?” to which Ryan nodded his head and got on his tiptoes to land a kiss straight on Shane’s lips. They giggled like lovesick teenagers, then called a cab to go back to their hotel.

Ryan got changed, then sat on the bed as Shane got undressed and ready for bed, staring at him all the while.

“Whatcha looking at, loverboy?”

“You”

“Do I have something on my face?” he rubbed the heel of his hand in an attempt to get the imaginary thing off his face.

“No. You’re just so pretty, I couldn’t help but watch”

“I’m gonna kiss you on the mouth if you don’t stop this Ry” Shane laughed at himself.

“Do it” Ryan wheezed out. Shane tacked Ryan on the bed, kissing all the exposed skin he could find. 

They then crawled under the covers, finally allowing themselves to start the night cuddling.

“Love you idiot.”

“Love you too, Ry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for going on this adventure with me. this is so cheesy, but i've really gained so much confidence in myself since starting this project, and i really hope you enjoyed how i ended this. my greatest apologies for the inconsistent posting schedule.
> 
> as always, leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed! love you all and stay safe!


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